Popcorn Chicken

This popcorn chicken is juicy pieces of chicken fried to perfection. It’s crispy, flavorful, and super easy to make. Feel free to serve it as an appetizer or main course!

If serving as an appetizer, I like serving it with BBQ sauce, bang bang sauce, or honey mustard. If serving as a main course, I love serving it with 4 cheese mac and cheese and charred corn.

WHAT MAKES THIS THE BEST POPCORN CHICKEN?

• It’s made with all white meat, so there are no rubbery or chewy pieces.
• Cooks perfectly in just 2 minutes.
• No buttermilk required!
• Traditional popcorn chicken isn’t made with panko bread crumbs, so no breadcrumbs are required either!

HOW TO MAKE STEP-BY-STEP

See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and complete instructions.

1. In a small bowl combine the paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set it aside.
2. Combine the egg and milk and mix until well combined.
3. Cut the chicken breasts into 1/2-inch pieces and season with 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt and half of the spice mixture.
4. In a shallow dish, combine the all-purpose flour and remaining spice blend, don’t add any salt to the flour.
5. Heat your oil to 350 degrees F.
6. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture and remove any extra liquid. Place the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour. You can use a strainer to coat multiple pieces at once.
7. Make sure to coat the chicken well with flour. It should be completely coated, without any visible chicken. If you can still see the chicken through the flour, apply another coat.
8. Deep fry the chicken for 2 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
9. Once the chicken is done cooking, place it on a wire rack or a plate lined with a paper towel. Allow the chicken to cool for a couple of minutes before serving, and enjoy!

TOP TIPS

• To make sure your chicken is seasoned just right every time, use 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt for each pound of chicken. So if you have 3 pounds of chicken, you’ll need 3 teaspoons of salt, and so on and so forth.
• I recommend coating your chicken chunks in flour once your oil reaches 350 degrees otherwise, the chicken will absorb most of the flour and you don’t want that. For the best results, you want the chicken to be freshly coated with flour right before frying.
• Use a candy thermometer to measure the oil. If your oil is too hot the outside of the chicken will burn and the inside will remain raw. If the oil is too cold, the chicken will absorb too much oil and will turn out greasy. The perfect oil temperature for deep frying popcorn chicken is 350 degrees.

STORAGE

It’s no secret that fried foods are simply best when eaten while hot and crispy. But if you end up with leftovers, place them in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or air fryer until heated through.

For more of my favorite chicken recipes, check out these hot honey chicken tenders, garlic butter chicken bites, and baked spicy popcorn chicken.

Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. And consider following me on Facebook or Pinterest!